


Sweet Memories

by TheSilverFrames



Series: Reformed Daniel AU [9]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), reformed Daniel AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 21:21:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12442089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverFrames/pseuds/TheSilverFrames
Summary: In Daniel's fucked up life, there are three memories that stand out to him.





	Sweet Memories

“You looked very angry as a child, David.” The man in question looked over at the other male in his room. He laughed slightly, shaking his head. “Yeah, I wasn’t a very happy kid. I hated being at camp for the longest time.” Well, that was surprising. Daniel continued to look over the various pictures stapled to David’s ‘memory board’ that he had hanging in his room. In some of the old photos, young David was scowling, arms crossed over his chest similarly to a certain other camper in a blue hoodie, yet in others, David’s current optimism was shown in the pictures. It was a jarring shift, one that Daniel couldn’t get out of his mind. Hearing David, the happy-go-lucky, nature-loving man say that he used to not like camping, and seeing pictures that supported that claim just… didn’t feel right. Daniel had always assumed that David had been born loving nature, growing up as a tree hugger and camping expert who wanted nothing more than to live in the outdoors among the trees and animals. “What changed?” He asked, watching as his brunette partner walked over and stood beside him, looking over the memories he had posted to the board.   
  
David smiled, his forest green eyes clouded with nostalgia and old memories. “Camp Campbell changed me. Coming to this camp helped me come to understand the value of nature and camping.” Daniel smirked, rolling his eyes. Only David would be able to learn to love something like camping from a cheap camp like Camp Campbell. His eyes lingered on the photos, it felt like he was almost looking into the past, each picture told its own story. “You looked cute as a child.” He stated, turning his head to gauge his lover's reaction. David’s face and the tips of his ears flushed a light red and he giggled. “Awww, thank you, Daniel! I’m sure you were cute as a child too!” Daniel felt his own face heat up, he was not expecting that. “Uh… t-thank you.” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. David looked over at Daniel, frowning slightly and tilting his head in confusion. “Are you okay, Daniel?” The blonde shrugged. “Guess I’m still not used to the whole… affection thing.” After years and years of being robbed of his will to be positive without it being fake, forced or, in later cases, directed only at the cult, it was hard to suddenly start showing genuine affection.   
  
Even if it was directed towards someone he loved. While he had become touch-starved over the years due to the lack of love he’d been given over time, he still felt scared that he might mess something up if he asked for or gave affection. David hummed in understanding, nuzzling his head against Daniel’s shoulder. “Welp, you’re gonna have to get used to it soon, because I’ve got lots of love to give you!” That was an obvious joke, or at least part of it was. David was a very patient man when it came to Daniel and his issues. He would never force him to do anything unless it was about his health or well being. “I’ll try, you little dork.” He laughed, pressing a hesitant kiss to the top of the brunette’s head. Minutes went by as the two stood in silence, still looking over the pictures on the board. Daniel broke the silence when a question popped into his mind, a question that he’d been meaning to ask for a few days. “Hey, David?” The brunette looked up at him, smiling. “Hm?” Daniel thought for a second, making sure to word this right so that it wouldn’t come off as rude or accusatory. “Did you… date anyone, before you started dating me?”   
  
“Well, yeah. I dated Bonquisha before dating you, remember?” Daniel did remember. David was a complete and total mess when Bonquisha broke up with him. The poor man spent days crying and eating ice cream, to the point where Gwen would send him off to his room for some alone time while she and Daniel would watch the campers. He felt terrible for the poor guy. This happened before Daniel grew his crush on David, but he still felt David didn’t deserve to dumped over such a stupid reason as not being ‘man enough.’ “I remember, I meant like, before that, when you were younger.” The brunette thought about his years as a teenager, trying to remember his past partners. “I did date two other people before you and Bonquisha. A boy and a girl. They didn’t last that long though, maybe a year or so.” He admitted. “You don’t have any memories either of them?” Daniel questioned, shooting him a quizzical look. “Not really, relationships back then for me was pretty much just going to each other's houses and talking a lot at school. Nothing big.” He explained, shrugging.   
  
“What about you?” David looked over at Daniel. “Did you date anyone before me?” Daniel frowned, thinking hard. Then the memories hit him, sending waves of surprisingly positive nostalgia through his body. “Yes… one person, a boy, back when I was in highschool.” David became curious, wanting to know a bit more about his boyfriend. “What was he like?” The blonde’s heart sped up as more memories continued to flood into him, like a heavily cracked dam that finally broke after years of being poorly mandated, its water rapidly rolling over the grass and dirt. “He was… nice, one of the few people I befriended during my time in highschool. He...” Daniel paused, wondering if he could say this about his ex considering he was now in a relationship. David gave him a kind, reassuring look, as though he knew why Daniel was hesitating and wanted him to know he didn’t mind. “He was important to me at that time.” David hummed, tilting his head in interest. “How so?” Daniel didn’t know how to put how this boy made him feel to words. “I can’t say, it’s not easy to explain. I could… just tell you about how we got together? Maybe that would help?” David nodded, now full of curiosity about this other person. “Go for it!” He encouraged. “Okay then… this happened back when I was in tenth grade..”   


* * *

__  
_ Daniel’s blue eyes were wide behind his white framed glasses. Today was club day at his school and he was in the music club. The room was bustling with other students chatting, playing their instruments and laughing. Several teens were clustered together in their little friend groups. Across the large classroom stood a group of three students, two of them holding their instruments and all of them were laughing. Daniel’s eyes were trained on the tall boy standing directly in the middle. He was one of the piano players. He had fluffy bright ginger hair, a cute freckle dotted face and beautiful brown eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses. His name was Jeremiah and if it wasn’t obvious enough, Daniel liked him. It was strange really, Daniel hadn’t felt an emotion like this in a long time. It affection and love. In normal terms, he had a crush. He didn’t even know he could feel love like this after years of suppressing and ignoring certain emotions because of his parent's demands. The blonde watched silently as Jeremiah played the piano and sang jokingly off-key, making his friends laugh loudly. _ __  
__  
_ Daniel bit his bottom lip, tightening his fist around the handle of his fiddle case and trying to calm himself down. Today was the day. The day he would ask Jeremiah out. This crush the blonde had on the ginger had been going on for a long while, starting out small, then growing larger and larger, until it hurt. Daniel was nervous like most sixteen-year-olds would be, but he had a huge reason. He didn't even know if Jeremiah liked boys or not. He hadn’t seen the ginger male express any interest in the same sex, but at the same time, he hadn’t seen him express interest in the opposite sex either, so that gave him a glint of hope. Well, he didn't have many friends at this school anyway, Jeremiah just happened to be one that he grew close to, he might as well see if he had a chance. What did he have to lose? _ __  
__  
_ Daniel approached the group quietly, taking quick breaths to try and calm himself down, and stopped in front of Jeremiah. The ginger-haired boy noticed him immediately. “Hey, Danny!” He greeted, showing off his perfect, sweet smile. “Uh… hi, Jere.” Daniel waved awkwardly, his face heating up a bit at hearing his nickname. “Can I talk to you for a second?” Jeremiah blinked, then nodded, keeping that smile on his freckled face. “Of course, dude!” The two walked a little bit away from the group, standing off to the side, away from prying ears. “Soooo, whatcha need, Danny?” Daniel bit his lip again, thinking over what he wanted to say and how to not sound stupid saying it. “I-I… I really like you, Jeremiah… And I was wondering… If we could maybe…” He shut his eyes tightly, his heart in his throat. “g-go out together sometime??” Daniel felt his face flush fifty shades of red as he waited to be rejected. “Sure, why not?” The young blonde had to do a double take when he heard that. “Wait, really??” He mentally pinched himself, questioning if this was a dream or his imagination taking hold of him. _ __  
__  
_ Jeremiah laughed lightly at Daniel’s shocked expression. “Uh yeah, really. Danny, you and I have been friends for like, years! You’re a nice guy and I would be lying if I denied that I thought you were adorable.” Jeremiah smirked, making Daniel’s stomach do a flip. H-He really liked him? He waited to try dating him? Oh god, oh god. This was a dream, it had to be! He felt dazed, confused, shocked, this couldn't be real! “Why don't you come over to my house this weekend? We could watch a movie together.” Daniel managed to snap himself back into reality, nodding his head and smiling softly. “I would love that.” _ __  


* * *

__  
Daniel felt his heart speed up again when he finished his story about asking out Jeremiah. “Jeremiah was my first crush and my first boyfriend before you. The memories I have of him are some of the few positive ones that I’ve had in my life.” Daniel explained, looking over at David who was seated next to him on his bed, which they sat on when Daniel started his story. “Heh, I remember having to come up with excuses for why Jeremiah couldn't come over to my house. I didn't know how my parents would react to me going out with someone and I really, really didn't want to find out.” He chuckled, thinking back on it, the memories of Jeremiah were actually very funny considering that Daniel was in the same situation just a week ago, with a different boy. David. Maybe this time around it would actually last? He certainly hoped so. “Why’s that?” David questioned, a little confused. Daniel tensed slightly, not replying out of fear of what his partner’s reaction would be if told him. As much as he wanted to vent, he didn’t want to make worry David about him with tales of his past and his parents.   
  
“It’s… nothing, I don’t want to make you worry.” David frowned, seeing through the lie almost immediately. “Daniel, I’m not going to force you to talk about them, but need to know that you don’t have to keep these things to yourself. I want to help you. You can talk to me about anything, I won’t judge you.” There it was. That unending kindness and care that David seemed to always possess. Daniel was grateful for it at times. Still, he hesitated, trying to pick the right words to use. “My parents... My parents were not the best people,” He paused, staring into space for a second as the few negative memories that he hadn’t repressed resurfaced in his mind, causing him to grimace. “They were actually pretty horrible now that I think about it. I remember them being loving and caring for a short time, around until I was five or so, then they joined the Cult of Zeemoog and just… changed.” That was a huge understatement, his parents became vastly different people after joining that cult. “They barely interacted with me, only showing me affection when I showed interest in the cult or did exactly as they instructed. even then, it was just a pat on the head or a small praise, nothing more, nothing less.”   
  
The next few memories hurt to think about and Daniel had to take a few breaths to keep himself calm. “If I were to ever speak out against their orders or the actions of the cult, they would… hurt me.” He took another shaky breath, clenching his hands into fists. David rubbed the other man’s back, lacing his hand with Daniel and squeezing it gently. “Take your time, Daniel. Don’t force it out.” He said softly, voice filled with comfort and warmth. Daniel squeezed David’s hand back, taking a few more deep breaths before continuing. “It started small at first, a slap from my mother, a shove from my father, but it slowly worsened over time. They would hit me, beat me, sometimes leaving scratches and bruises. It got so bad that I would avoid my parents when I came home from school. I would do anything they said out of fear of getting beaten. I was so young that I didn’t understand how wrong that was. In my mind, I had done something wrong and was getting punished for it. Even when we learned about abuse at school, I still didn’t connect the dots because they convinced me that I was bad and needed to be punished. I wanted to gain their love back so badly that I would do anything they said…”   


* * *

__  
_ “Mommy? Daddy?” Seven-year-old Daniel called out down the hallway, walking down the long stairs of his bleak home and glancing around. It was late in the afternoon, around seven or so, when the young boy decided to leave his room. He had taken notice of his parents being very, very quiet since they brought their guest to the house. This happened every few weeks, his parents would bring home a guest from work or town and Daniel would usually go upstairs to his room. Mostly because when the adults would start talking, everything would become boring very fast, too many big words that hurt his head. His parents never seemed to mind though, so everything a guest was brought home, he would go read in his room. But today, he was actually a little curious about what his parents were actually doing and where the guests ended up going because they always ended up somehow leaving the house without making a sound. He peeked his head into the living room once he reached the bottom of the stairs. His parents and the guest, an older man, stood around a table, holding cups in their hands and talking idly. His mother noticed him in the doorway and, to his surprise, she smiled at him. _ __  
__  
_ “Daniel, what are you doing in the doorway sweetie? Come inside!” Her voice was full of kindness and love. It was jarring to the little blonde, he was so used to his parents giving him the cold shoulder and hurting him that hearing his mother sound so kind and gentle was startling. Nevertheless, Daniel slowly entered the room, standing next to his mother and staring up at the guest. “This is our son, Daniel.” His father explained, patting him on the head. “Daniel, this is Evan, he’s one of my co-workers. Say hello.” The young blonde stared up at Evan, a brunette male who looked to be around the same age as his father, maybe a bit younger. Evan smiled down at him. “Hello, sir.” Daniel greeted, making Evan chuckle. “Hiya kiddo, nice to meet ya! You’re Ma and Pa have told me a lot about you.” Now that was surprising, his parents never talked about him at all, or at least, not in a positive light. “We were just about to drink some punch, Daniel. Would you like some?” His mother asked. Daniel nodded immediately. _ __  
__  
_ His father handed him a cup full of red liquid, which he assumed to be cherry punch. His mother grinned, looking to her husband, then to Evan. “Let’s drink!” With that, the four took sips from their cups. Daniel hummed, the punch was delicious! He was about to take another sip from the cup when his eyes shot up at the sound of loud coughing. Evan lurched forward, clutching his neck and coughing violently, some of the red punch falling from his mouth and rolling down his chin. Daniel took a step back, staring in shock as Evan fell to his knees, then to his stomach, his coughing stopping soon after that, his body twitching. Daniel blinked, staring at the body in front of him, then he looked up at his parents in confusion. “M-Mommy? Daddy? What just happened?” His mother smiled, crouching down and holding her son close. “Do you remember the lectures on ascension that we listened to at the church, Sweetie?” Daniel nodded, he did remember, however, he didn’t really understand everything that was being said, the pastor used too many big words. _ __  
__  
_ “We helped Evan ascend, Daniel. He’s no longer in pain or full of negative emotions. He is at peace.” She explained, her tone soft and sweet, like silk ribbons or candy. There was a hint of joy in her voice as well, like she had done something that pleased her. “Perhaps one day you will help others to ascend as we have helped Evan today.” His father chimed in, voice full of pride as he ruffled his son’s blond hair, like he used to years ago. Daniel thought for a moment about his father’s words. Would this make them happy? Would it make them love him again? Ascension didn’t sound like a bad thing if it helped people be at peace, maybe he could help in the future, If it would make his parents happy. He wanted them to be happy. He wanted them to love him again. _ __  
__  
_ “Okay, Daddy.” _ __  


* * *

__  
“I became so obsessed with trying to regain their love that I blurred the lines between right and wrong, good and bad, all of it became unimportant. I did everything they said, I killed, I went to the church every time they had a meeting, I buried myself in the cult. Pretty soon, I had lost all interest in anything else in my life, the only thing that mattered was my loyalty to the cult. I even started forgetting about my parents. I started liking to kill, to help people ascend in the name of Zeemoog…” Daniel took a sharp breath, the last memory hurt the most. “Then… I was informed one day by one of the followers that my mother and father had… taken their lives. They wanted to ascent, to be with their brethren in peace, free of all negative emotions and pain. That was the only time I’ve ever cried while in the cult. Negative emotions were not permitted.” Tears formed in his blue eyes as he continued. “I know I shouldn’t have grieved over their deaths. I should’ve been happy that they were finally gone! But I was too messed up, I still loved them. I vowed that day to make a name for myself in their honor… I was so stupid.”   
  
“Daniel, please look at me.” He complied, looking at David and sniffling. David placed his hands on Daniel’s pale face, wiping the tears rolling down his cheeks with his thumbs. “You’re not stupid, please don’t call yourself that. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, no one should ever have to go through that sort of pain or torture, especially as a child. Your parents didn’t deserve to have you.” He consoled, pulling Daniel close and holding him in his arms. “I shouldn’t have loved them or tried to gain their affection.” The blonde mumbled. “Affection is not something a child gains from a parent, Daniel. It’s supposed to be given from the beginning, not earned through horrid acts. What you’re parents did to you was very, very wrong.” Daniel didn’t say anything, choosing to sit in silence as the words sunk in. Minutes went by without a single word spoken, both of the men just sitting in content silence. David finally spoke, keeping his voice soft and gentle. “Why don’t we watch a movie together? It’ll help you get your mind off things.”   
  
Daniel smiled, nodding and pulling back. “I would love too.” The two stood from the bed, lacing their hands together again and walking out of David’s room. As they neared the main area in the counselor's cabin, another memory popped into Daniel’s mind, a more recent one. It was the memory of the day David saved him from going to jail, the car ride to Camp Campbell.   


* * *

  
_ Daniel sat inside an old, beat up car in complete silence. He shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with the owner of the vehicle. Glancing down at his clothes, he grimaced. He had been forced to change out of his prison uniform and the only clothes the jail had to provide him was an oversized blue shirt and a pair of old worn out jeans. He could practically feel the germs on these things and he had to force himself to ignore it or else he’d probably end up vomiting. Daniel choose instead to look out the window at the moving scenery, still trying to fully comprehend what on earth just happened! Everything seemed fake at the moment, like a dream or simulation, the only problem was Daniel wasn’t waking up and he honest to god wanted to! He had been released from prison. That was a sentence he should not be able to say. This could not be real. Daniel looked at the driver out of the corner of his eyes. The familiar nature-loving, camp counselor behind the wheel had an unreadable look on his face as he drove down the seemingly unending road. _ __  
__  
_ This was the longest Daniel had seen the overly enthusiastic brunette be completely silent. It was very unnerving and almost… wrong. He fiddled with his hands as the thought over the events that had transpired that day. Daniel had been sent to trial for all the crimes he had committed over the years, he was positive that he would be convicted and he was right. The trial didn’t even take that long, two hours, before the jury reached their verdicts and he was found guilty. By then, Daniel had chased in all his checks, he needed to be in jail, so he pleaded guilty. Not in an attempt to get a reduced sentence, but as to own up to his horrid deeds and be punished for it. Just as he was about to be taken away to jail, David, the friendly happy go lucky Camp Campbell counselor, stood from where he was seated in the crowd. He began to beg and plead with the judge and jury for Daniel to be released. Minutes went by, then half an hour. Somehow, someway, he convinced them to let Daniel work at Camp Campbell for the summer, to prove he could change and become a better person. _ __  
__  
_ David and Daniel met eyes during the brunette’s speech, the blonde could see the determination in his forest green eyes. That led him to where he was now, sitting in David’s old car, going over the blurred events in his head. The man felt sadness overtake him quickly, he grabbed his arms and sat there, staring out the window, wishing he was back in jail. “Are you uncomfortable, Daniel? You look cold. I could turn off the air if you want.” David questioned, shooting the brooding man a quick glance. Daniel’s frown deepened, David sounded… concerned, nice, as though he wasn’t sitting right next to someone that was about to be sent to jail for murder. Daniel didn’t answer his question, he instead countered with a question of his own. “Why are you doing this?” David blinked, giving the man a quizzical look. “What do you mean?” Daniel didn’t meet his eyes, keeping his gaze on the passing scenery. “Why did you convince them to not send me to jail and… why are you so adamant on trying helping me?” _ __  
__  
_ David paused, not speaking. Daniel learned from David later on that he was finding a way to word this simply. “I’m a firm believer in second chances. I believe that, with enough time and guidance, anyone could become a good person. You were so quick to sign your life away, I couldn’t just sit back and let them send you to jail, you would’ve been torn apart in there!” Daniel ripped his gaze away from the window and finally looked at David. “I could tell you felt bad about what you did, it was obvious. You had this pained expression that told me that you needed help and who am I to sit back and let them take you away like that?” No words came from Daniel, he just soaked up the words, like a sponge would water. Then he turned back to the window again, retreating into his mind in an attempt to piece together everything he just heard. This couldn’t be real. It had to be a dream. “You can change, Daniel. I can see it.” _ __  
__  
_ “Believe what you want to believe, David.” _ __  


* * *

  
Daniel smiled contently, looking over at David, who was grinning joyfully at the Disney Movie playing on the small TV. It was funny really. Ever since day one, David had been adamant that Daniel could change and he never stopped trying to get him to see that, even when the blonde would deny it. Daniel was so stuck in his self-loathing and depression that he didn’t even want to give change a chance. He felt that he was meant to suffer, that he was meant to be miserable and that he was meant to be hated. But, David’s kindness and care had helped him learn to see more in himself. He learned that he could feel more than just sorrow and pain. He was still upset with himself for what he did, but he was getting through it. Perhaps… with David’s help, one day Daniel could grow past this and become better. If they stuck together, then maybe he could learn to be happy again…   
  
_ He certainly hoped so. _


End file.
